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The downside to a shorter (height) sump is you then can't do quite so much wet/dry functionality - it requires a certain amount of height above the water level for the dry portion. I agree it makes maintenance trickier in a smaller cabinet, though.

The water pressure you're dealing with really isn't much...I'd just DIY the silicone. If you had a 100 gallon sump...then maybe more attention to detail would be required...

11-07-2013 07:01 AM

SlammedDC2

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazymittens

It'll eventually cure (as long as we're not talking 1" deep), but the absolute minimum is 48 hours, recommended a week. Don't forget...it off-gasses ammonia!

No nothing that thick. I think I am going to call some glass shops and see what they can price me and what they would charge to seal it all in place.
I think I am going to use a 30L instead of the 29 that is currently in use. The 29 works but is so tall that it makes maintenance a little difficult. I think something shorter and longer is better. The other nice thing is I can take my time building the 30L so when I take everything down it will already be done and the reassembly will be faster. The downside is I was going to use that 30L to house my fish while it was down. Maybe I need to get on craigslist and look for a temporary home.
All things to think about and figure out how I am going to do this.

It'll eventually cure (as long as we're not talking 1" deep), but the absolute minimum is 48 hours, recommended a week. Don't forget...it off-gasses ammonia!

11-06-2013 06:03 PM

SlammedDC2

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazymittens

IIRC you can get the foam at places like Big Al's (LFS), or off amazon in big sheets/rolls.

I had no issues with silicone/acrylic - just used a lot. Be sure to let it cure for 48-72 hours minimum, most especially if you are really gooping it on. After 24 hours anything thicker than 1/4" will still be liquid on the bottom.

Note that the design you're showing - the first baffle is too high (well, no point in being that high). The water level in that first section will only get as high as the next baffle over.

Also, there's no 'dry' section to this, i.e. for a drip tray. Everything I've read (barrreport, here) indicates that freshwater sumps really benefit from a drip tray so you get more types of bacteria.

For mine, I have a higher first baffle (raised 2" off the bottom) than necessary - aesthetics, but a functional mistake. Note the second baffle (which touches the bottom of the sump) has the drip tray immediately flowing off the same height.

This design allows me to have a wet/dry sump with only two baffles. The drawback is that the entire unit must be sealed to reduce CO2 off-gassing.

So basically let each coat dry longer?

11-06-2013 04:23 PM

crazymittens

IIRC you can get the foam at places like Big Al's (LFS), or off amazon in big sheets/rolls.

I had no issues with silicone/acrylic - just used a lot. Be sure to let it cure for 48-72 hours minimum, most especially if you are really gooping it on. After 24 hours anything thicker than 1/4" will still be liquid on the bottom.

Note that the design you're showing - the first baffle is too high (well, no point in being that high). The water level in that first section will only get as high as the next baffle over.

Also, there's no 'dry' section to this, i.e. for a drip tray. Everything I've read (barrreport, here) indicates that freshwater sumps really benefit from a drip tray so you get more types of bacteria.

For mine, I have a higher first baffle (raised 2" off the bottom) than necessary - aesthetics, but a functional mistake. Note the second baffle (which touches the bottom of the sump) has the drip tray immediately flowing off the same height.

This design allows me to have a wet/dry sump with only two baffles. The drawback is that the entire unit must be sealed to reduce CO2 off-gassing.

11-06-2013 05:32 AM

SlammedDC2

Hey guys, I'm going to redo my big tank and I figure while I've got it down I might as well go ahead and do the sump as well.

I originally used plexiglas as dividers but those started washing out after a year or so. I'm thinking this time I will use glass dividers but I want to know of any tricks y'all used to make sure the silicone didn't wear out and give way over time.

I plan to redo my sump with a design similar to this:

Now this one has very little silicone around the dividers where mine had much more. Prob three coats and I used my fingers to work it into all the little nooks and cranny's to make sure it got in there good. I let it dry for 24 hours after each application. So what are your thoughts/tips/tricks?
TIA

Also does anyone know where I might be able to find any foam like in the pic?

11-03-2013 06:37 PM

SlammedDC2

Hey guys, it's been awhile but I did some updating to the OP.

10-01-2013 04:47 PM

crazymittens

Whee clubs...this is my second sump build. #23 ?

In progress pics, but almost done.

Very much a budget build, and yes I know the return pump situation is 'less than ideal'. This is a 50G tank, going under a 125G display.

09-20-2013 03:54 AM

Land_lubber

Oh I have lids on my sump as well to help reduce evaporation and keep the heat in as well. Thinking of insulating the back and sides of the sump to help with heat as well.

09-20-2013 03:52 AM

Land_lubber

Nice, here is my sump

The overflow goes into the left where the bio balls are and from there goes through different coarse porat foam before heading back up through the return on the far right.

09-19-2013 05:36 PM

BeastMaster

Here's my contribution

Constructed a sump to house foam filter blocks for a DBP 3L tank. The sump box was made from glass dividers and the glass top that came with the tank. This DIY project is what I call my "OTS Mattenfilter" (OTS-on the side).